Tales of Phantasy: Gal Da Val Saga
by Strawberry Eggs
Summary: Two months have past since the hunter team's investigation of Ragol and Pioneer 1. They are still onboard the Pioneer 2. A lab tests the team's abilities for a new mission on the island of Gal Da Val...Could someone from Pioneer 1 really still be alive?
1. Prologue

**Full Summary:** Two months have passed since the end of the team's investigation. Despite what the Principal said, no official declaration of the death of _Pioneer 1_'s passengers and crew have been made. _Pioneer 2_'s research lab asks Lloyd and the others to undergo a series of exams before undertaking a new mission...could someone from _Pioneer 1_ still be alive? What awaits them on the new island of Gal Da Val?

**Reading **_**Tales of Phantasy **_**before this story is ****highly**** recommended. **

I know what you guys are thinking: "Geez, what took you so darn long, huh?" Honestly...I'm not sure. Yes I was busy with school and with work, but it often felt like when I did have time to write, I just didn't want to. I did get one one-shot done during this time and while I nearly finished the Sword of Mana one, I had lost my fanfiction notebook and just lost the urge to write it, despite telling myself I would rewrite it before getting to work on this story. I also wanted to reach my one thousandth review before I did any writing, but once again laziness overtook me. I wouldn't be surprised if my readership was cut in half or more by now.

I sincerely apologize, my dear readers. Though it has been months since the end of the first _Tales of Phantasy, _I do hope you'll enjoy this one just as much. It may be a direct sequel, but it will run a bit differently than the first one. Save for the prologue, the first couple of chapters will focus largely on character drama and interaction. This is mainly because the beginning of Episode II consists of two areas that have little bearing on the story and are largely pointless. By the fourth or fifth chapter, it will go back to a more action-based pacing. It will likely be a bit shorter than the first one as well.

This will be my last opening Author's Note. I'm beginning to think they are pointless to have them in every chapter and they more often than not consist of me apologizing for being late. Of course, I'll probably do that in the ending A/N anyway.

* * *

**Prologue**

_Silent Palace_

_Where...am I?_

While he felt himself come to, as if waking up from a long sleep, he quickly realized something was very wrong. He felt that he was lying down, but he couldn't sit up. He tried to open his eyes, but all he could see was darkness. Unable to move, unable to so much as open his eyes...had he somehow become paralyzed? How could he still breathe?

_Of course...how could I forget something like that? This body...is no longer my own._

If he could, he would have laughed at himself. It came to him suddenly once his mind cleared up. He remembered where he was; what had happened to him; what he had done. No, he couldn't remember all of it. Not when _It _was in control. He could only recall brief flashes, yet that didn't hide the terrible knowledge of what had happened.

_I know I killed them all...or rather, _It _killed them. I am merely a prisoner in this Thing's body, in it's mind. But...how long will _It _and I be separate?_

Their experiment was complete. Complete, but not successful. They needed full control of the Thing. They used an AI computer's core and used a human as the base; him. Two safeguards to prevent it from going wild. It wasn't enough.

The last thing he remembered clearly was being taken to large, dimly lit room. Well, it was mostly dim. In the center was a strange chamber of glass and metal; the lights were mostly focused on it. He was given a sedative and blacked out.

All he could remember next were the sounds of screaming and flashes of people being cut down. He vaguely recalled being forced onto a large transporter...somehow. There were faint images of him falling down a long elevator shaft and...a light. A brilliant flash that emanated from "his"body. After that, all he could remember was black again.

He was currently at the bottom of that elevator shaft, where they hoped to keep him_--It-- _trapped. That didn't save them, though. That light--how he knew, he had no idea--but he was certain that the light engulfed them. Every last one of them in the Seabed Lab and on the Island. Soldiers and scientists; his superiors and friends...they all died, swallowed up body and soul, adding to _Its _power.

_Somehow, I don't think this Thing will be able to do that again but even so...The people of_ Pioneer 2_ are doomed._

For now _It _was lying dormant, almost asleep after it absorbed all that power. He wanted to keep the thing under control, but how? If he couldn't even control it when it was barely conscious, how could he hope to prevent it from escaping? He wasn't even sure if his own mind would stay separate from _Its_. Not that it mattered; he doubted that he would ever be human again.

_I hope to the Great Light that they received my messages. Leave this planet, Pioneer_ 2_!_ _Please, leave before it fully awakens!_


	2. Called on Again

**Chapter One: Called On Again**

"I am Kate Milarose, General Chief of _Pioneer 2_ Research Facilities. This is your first time in the Lab, right?"

Speaking before the hunters was not the aging Principal of the colony ship but a young woman with green-blue hair. Wearing a neatly pressed two-piece fuchsia-colored suit and a small pair of glasses, she did not seem to command the same authority either. Like the leader though, she stood behind a large desk with two smaller ones at either side of her. One was empty; the other occupied by a young man with short black hair. He wore a blue uniform of sorts, complete with a hat; he was the woman's aide.

The room itself bore little resemblance to the Principal's office. To begin with, it was much larger. The Lab Chief's "office" stood on a raised portion in the south of the room. Down an incline was a warp leading to the rest of the Lab as well as two transporters to the surface. At the other end of the room was an enormous window which faced empty space rather than the planet Ragol.

"This is the center of all _Pioneer 2 _research facilities. We simply call it 'The Lab'".

While her serious expression remained, a hint of somberness could be heard on her voice, "The incident on Ragol, ferocious lifeforms, and the mysterious underground ruins--" A forced cough interrupted Chief Milarose followed by and "ow!" after Sheena, a dark-haired Newman girl elbowed the source of the cough, a red-haired male Hunter by the name of Zelos.

The Lab Chief gave the pair a puzzled look before clearing her throat and continuing.

"As I was saying, I am sure all of you, as hunters, have experienced them." Waving her right arm slowly across the room, she added, "Here we conduct research on data collected by hunters. Then, we report our finding to the Administration; the government. What we would like to discuss with you today is not a direct order from the Administration. You can think of it as a mission request from the Lab available to all hunters."

"And yet, you are asking all of us at once?" Raine, a silver-haired FOmarl asked, "I apologize for interrupting, but a hunter team of eight is unusual."

Kate Milarose turned to focus on the Force, "While the mission is open to all hunters, the Administration highly recommended all of you as a team. We were a bit skeptical, so we decided to organize a test to measure your ability to work together. If you should fail, we will tests other hunters."

"We will not be sent on the mission right away, then?" Regal, a blue-haired HUmar inquired.

The chief nodded, "That is correct. I will explain briefly." She her attention to the whole group. "We discovered a new point on Ragol's surface from our own research. It all started with a communication recently received from a man. This man was a soldier on _Pioneer 1_.

Quiet exclamations of "What?!", "No way!" "How can that be possible?" and similar phrases escaped from the hunters' mouths, the younger ones especially.

"We are very certain he is who he says he is," Chief Milarose elaborated. Less assuredly, she added, "But here is something that really bother me...Based on the log we received while we were traveling to Ragol, this man had passed away on the surface of the planet a few years ago."

Lloyd, a brown-haired red-armored Hunter let go of a breath he did not realize he was holding. Of course the chance of this man being his father was slim to begin with, but then he knew for certain it wasn't him. His father was alive and well up until that no-longer mysterious explosion; he even received a message from his father a day before _Pioneer 2 _arrived.

"So we want to find out what happened to him. This mission involves a high amount of risk and it must remain a secret. You will have to go through a series of exams."

"Exams?!" Lloyd blurted out, taking a step back.

Genis, a young silver-haired Force rolled his eyes, "Not those kinds of exams, Lloyd."

Trying to regain his composure, Lloyd said, "I-I thought exams specifically meant the written kind?"

"No, they don't have to be."

"Oh..."

"He is right. These exams are not written," the chief explained, raising an eyebrow at Lloyd, "The exams will take place in a virtual reality system in the Lab."

"'Virtual reality'" Like some kind of video game?" Lloyd asked.

Milarose shook her head, "This system is far more advanced than any game. There are two VR fields for the Hunter's exam: 'Temple' and 'Spaceship'. These two VR fields are divided into three areas: Alpha, Beta, and Final. Once you've finished these three areas, yo will have cleared the Temple. Then you will return to the Lab and we will reset the field."

"That is, of course, if you wish to take the mission on. We are not forcing you to. Accept or decline, it's up to you."

* * *

"Tell me again why you're following me?"

"Just 'cause."

Sheena let out an exasperated sigh. The meeting with Kate Milarose ended in a unanimous decision to do through with the new mission. It wasn't a surprise, not to her anyway. They all saw through their previous mission to the end and had believed that everyone from _Pioneer 1_ was dead. If anyone was gong to find a survivor, it was them.

Sheena never expected to be so involved in this case. She certainly never thought she would be uncovering a government conspiracy, or fighting the remnant of an evil god, but it was more than that. She didn't have a personal reason to want to investigate either, like several of the others. All she wanted was to help search for the people of _Pioneer 1_, to ease the troubles of those on _Pioneer 2_ who had lost someone.

Not that she was the_ only_ one in the group without a personal reason.

"What, no angry or sarcastic retort?" Zelos asked her.

Sheena let out a slight gasp. "Uh, I was just...thinking to myself." Zelos following her whenever the two met was becoming common. She usually protested more. While she was starting to warm up to the HUmar—as a friend, that is—he never ceased to annoy her.

"Was it about this mission?" he further inquired.

"Yeah. I mean, it's strange, isn't it? Just when we thought we were finished with _Pioneer 1_, we're asked to take on a mission to look for a survivor."

"The way I see it, our original mission was never over to begin with."

Looking right at him Sheena said, "It is, in a way. We're going back to searching for survivors, or in this case, _a _survivor. He might even be the reason why they haven't made an official announcement about the disappearances."

"If that's the reason, then how long ago did they receive the message? I don't call two months 'recent'."

"Maybe they were making sure it was legitimate. Or at least not some prankster from the ship or surface. Why else would they go through the troubling of sending us if they weren't sure."

"It still wouldn't take two months."

"Hmm, I guess..." Sheena went back to looking straight ahead again.

For a while, no words passed between them. It wasn't a long moment. Often times while they walked together, things would go silent until Zelos asked to come up to her apartment, which she always refused. Somehow though, it felt awkward. While she was wondering what more she should say, Zelos lifted his head a little, "Did you ever think all this would happen?"

"Huh?" Sheena blinked.

"Well, what did you think about the mission when you first signed up for it? Before we were teamed up with Lloyd and the others? What did you think you would be doing?"

As she wordlessly looked at him, she began to realize what he meant. Why he suddenly brought it up, she couldn't say, but she felt inclined to answer him.

"Though I knew I should have expected anything when exploring Ragol, from the couple of jobs I took on that needed me to go to the surface, I didn't think it would be too difficult. I already knew the animals were aggressive, but aside from fighting them off, I would just be searching for survivors. Or for anything about what happened to _Pioneer 1_."

"Exactly. I don't think any of us thought we'd be dealing with mutant animals, the genetically engineered worm that created them, a mine full of robots on the fritz, and the incarnation of destruction inside an ancient ship. Then there's the whole government conspiracy thing. It's crazy how it changed from a relatively simple job!"

"Well that's true." Looking up at the redhead, Sheena continued, "You don't regret taking the mission on though, do you?"

"What? Of course not!" he replied in an incredulous tone, "It sucks that we have to keep the most important things a secret, but we still saved _Pioneer 2_! To me it's more important that we saved everybody."

"Right. And the fact that the government pays well and you get to brag about parts of the mission to your Hunnies."

"Hey, it's not like those are the only reasons I became a Hunter! Those are just...nice bonuses."

Sheena rolled her eyes after the HUmar grinned.

"Well, why did you become a Hunter?" he asked her.

"Me?" She blinked. It can be strange how one subject can lead to another like that.

"Uh, well, my family has always been Hunters. That's the main reason we came to Ragol."

"That's not the only reason, though." Zelos said it in a matter-of-fact tone rather than as a question.

"Yes. I mean, nothing says we have to become Hunters. It's more than just the familiarity of it, too, growing up around Hunters and all..." she let her last few words trail off.

"_And_?"

Sheena sighed, "It's kind of a childish reason...You see, when I was little, I loved the stories about he first settlers on Symphonia. The ones about the explorers who first set foot on the planet, the ones who discovered the places that would become the first towns and cities and fought strange, undiscovered animals. Most of those explorers were hunters so...Though I've always grown up around hunters, I also wanted to become a hunter to be like those explorers and settlers."

"So you must've been pretty excited when you heard about the move to Ragol."

Spots of colors appeared on her cheeks, "I said it was kind of childish..."

"Now normally I love it when you blush like that--"

"ZELOS!" She cut him off with a shout,

"Could you at least let me finish what I was saying?" He asked with a slight wince, "What I'm trying to say is that that's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You don't think it is?" She asked with a hint of skepticism.

"Isn't it every hunter's dream to take part in some great adventure? Or at least for most of us. There are a lot of hunters who feel the same way."

She looked at the man thoughtfully. She had known Zelos since she boarded _Pioneer 2_. She thought she had him pegged; a laid-back philanderer with a penchant for getting on her nerves. Though she shouldn't have been, she was surprised at how much she found out about it over the past several months. For starters, he was much smarter than she gave him credit for before and not nearly as selfish or insensitive.

Still, she felt she had to ask, "Is that why you became a Hunter?"

"Well, it's one reason. Not the biggest reason, either."

"Then what is?"

"Ah, it's really not anything big," Zelos said, shaking his head.

"Come on, I just told you. It's only fair if you told me."

It was Zelos's turn to look at the Newman thoughtfully. After a few moments he turned his head to look straight forward. "I wanted real freedom."

His uncharacteristically quiet, somber tone was not lost on Sheena's ears, "'Freedom'? What do you mean?"

"Look we're at your apartment building already," he said much louder and back in his usual tone.

"Hey, don't change the subject!"

"Well, maybe if we were to go up to your place and--"

"No way!"

Perhaps he was as different from what she thought before after all.


End file.
